Club Little House - September
Fravolato – Tenuta La Favola (2015)
Grape Variety(s): Frappato Style: Dry Red
Region: Noto, Sicily, Italy
Winemaker: Corrado and Valeria Gurrieri Soil: High Calcareous
Age of Vines: 10 yrs
The estate stands upon a hill in the far right-end corner of Sicily, just outside of the town of Noto, near Siracusa. When Corrado goes down the northern side of the hill to reach the olive grove, Mt. Etna salutes him. If he goes down along the southern side, all he can see is the deep blue of the seas in front of him. The paths among the vineyards are calcareous-white and at night time with a full-moon, the land shines. He’s not completely wrong when he says he lives in paradise. He has inherited this land from his mother who left it to him, second of four brothers.
It’s no surprise that he decided to farm them organically, or when he dedicated some of his land in order to experiment on his vines. Nor was it strange when he decided to use only green energy and not to have production residuals. Every day he spends hours in the vineyards looking at his vines thinking about new methods or new utensils. If you’re puzzled about the perfectionism and maniacal attention with which he looks at his sprouts, Corrado will just look at you like saying: “How can I possibly behave differently? How else could it be?”
The 2015 Fravolato is 100% Frappato, a native grape to the area, from fairly young vines on the estate. Like their other wines, the Fravolato is raised entirely in stainless steel (no oak). It is meant to be drunk young and is just a fabulous, versatile wine that I think is perfect for the changing season. The nose is just gorgeous and the finish will have it begging for some food, think Lasagna or anything off the grill.
Rosé – Domaine Lattard (2014)
Grape Variety(s): Syrah Style: Dry Rosé
Region: Rhone, France
Winemaker: Denis Lattard
Soil: Clay and Limestone Age of Vines: 15-20 yrs
Those of you who were part of the Club back in July, may remember a juicy Summer Gamay from the same producer. Now he’s back! And hands down, no kidding, this wine is the staff favorite of our whole portfolio right now. This rosé is out of this world flavorful! Forget what you heard about rosé needing to be drunk fresh, in the year it was made. This 2014 Rosé of Syrah is something like watermelon strawberry juice that is memorable and flat out delicious. I was first introduced to this wine in New York about a year ago after stumbling into a Chinese restaurant and enjoying it with some spiciy noodles. It blew us away and now we’re so lucky to have it to sell. Now...a bit more about the winemakerJ
After finishing his degree in oenology in 1995, Denis Lattard took over his family’s chicken and vegetable farm located in the heart of Ardèche or the Drôme, in Southern France. The farm had been previously covered in vines and this signified to Denis a different potential of this special terroir. He began to plant Gamay, Syrah, Roussanne, and Viognier vines on the 15 acre estate.
Today, the certified organic vines live in a dramatic environment of limestone and clay soils at 350m elevation on chiseled cliffs. Since 2007, he has added zero sulfites to his wines. The style of the wines tend to be light and fresh, allowing his terroir and the grapes’ true characteristics to shine through. Denis doesn’t want to produce pretentious or serious wines, just tasty wine to be enjoyed every day. Certified organic the estate now produces 15000 bottles a year.